[ILUG] introduction to programming

[Brian Foster]

  | Message-ID: <af54caaf050524181841841e97 at mail.gmail.com>
  | Date: Wed, 25 May 2005 02:18:56 +0100
  | From: Paul Biggar <paul.biggar at gmail.com>
  | Subject: Re: [ILUG] introduction to programming
  |[ ... ]
  | ps  I've never used it, but I gather pascal was written as a learning
  |     language?  Anyone any opinions on teaching using pascal?

 avoid it like the plague!  (think of it as another
 BASIC — a handful of things might be good for
 learners, but so many things are wrong that it
 will corrupt to the extent that some very serious
 unlearning will be needed — assuming it doesn't
 just turn the person off completely.)

 find a copy of Kernighan's “Why Pascal is not my
 Favorite Programming Language” if you really want
 to know the gory details — and as someone who has
 used Pascal Sucks¹ (albeit not as a first language),
 IIRC, he was being restrained in his criticisms.

 the one I know nothing about but have been told
 Dr Wirth got more or less right is the eventual
 successor, Modula-II.

  ¹ the rule when and where I went to university is
    that the name “Pascal” must always be followed
    by the word “Sucks” .... and to this day, I have
    an extremely hard time not typing that following
    word should I ever name that bastard of language.

cheers!
	-blf-

p.s.  Paul's other suggestions seem spot on, except
     data structuring should not be an afterthought;
     it is as important as algorithms and paradigms.

-- 
Experienced (20+ yrs) kernel/software Eng: | Brian Foster   Montpellier,
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